​September 18, 1970: Jimi Hendrix Died In London At 27

Hendrix’s cause of death: Inhalation of vomit due to barbiturate intoxication.

On September 29, Hendrix’s body was flown to Seattle, Washington. After a service at Dunlop Baptist Church on October 1, he was interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Renton, Washington, the location of his mother’s gravesite.

Hendrix’s family and friends traveled in 24 limousines. More than 200 people attended the funeral, including several notable musicians such as original Experience members Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding, as well as Miles Davis, John Hammond and Johnny Winter.

James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix was a musician, singer and songwriter. Despite a limited mainstream exposure of four years, he is widely considered one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century.

DEATH: In the days before his death, Hendrix had been in poor health, due in part to fatigue caused by overworking, a chronic lack of sleep, and an illness assumed to be influenza related. Insecurities about his personal relationships and disillusionment with the music industry had also contributed to his frustration.

Although the details of his final hours and death are unclear and disputed, Hendrix spent much of his last day with Monika Dannemann.

During the morning of September 18, she found him unresponsive in her flat at the Samarkand Hotel, 22 Lansdowne Crescent. She called for an ambulance at 11:18 a.m. and he was taken to St Mary Abbot’s Hospital where an attempt was made to resuscitate him. He was pronounced dead at 12:45 p.m.

The post-mortem examination concluded that Hendrix aspiratedhis own vomit and died of asphyxia while intoxicated with barbiturates. At the inquest, the coroner, finding no evidence of suicide and lacking sufficient evidence of the circumstances, recorded an open verdict.

Dannemann stated that Hendrix had taken 9 of her prescribed Vesparax sleeping tablets, 18 times the recommended dosage.